Host: City of Berkeley
Region: Bay Area
Openings: 1
Project Focus: Affordable Housing, Transportation / Mobility, Public Health, Climate Adaptation, Climate Mitigation, Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Workforce development
Skills Needed: Project Management, Stakeholder Engagement, Teamwork

Service Needs & Plans

The City of Berkeley’s Office of Energy & Sustainable Development (OESD) leads Berkeley’s sustainability efforts to reach the City’s ambitious Climate Action Plan (CAP) and fossil fuel-free goals,  and efforts to advance community resilience. OESD strives to help Berkeley residents, businesses and city government create a healthy, equitable, and safe community. OESD coordinates with multiple city departments to monitor CAP implementation and metrics; advances climate mitigation efforts including clean energy, electric mobility, energy efficiency, and green building related policies; and, catalyzes climate adaptation and resilience.

Berkeley has taken bold steps to address the climate crisis, including:

• First city in the nation to pass a prohibition of gas in new construction;
• Transitioned municipal, residential and commercial buildings to use 100% renewable electricity;
• Developed the equity-focused Berkeley Electric Mobility Roadmap (2020), which lays a path to a fossil fuel-free transportation system that supports active transportation and ensures equitable access to the benefits of clean transportation;
• Developed the equity-focused Existing Buildings Electrification Strategy (2021) which explores how to equitably electrify Berkeley’s existing buildings; and
• Exploring opportunities to pilot strategic equitable building electrification at the neighborhood scale with a focus on workforce development and high-road jobs.

Last year the Berkeley City Council approved $600,000 for a two-year Climate Equity Pilot Programs to promote building and transportation electrification for low-income residents. The Climate Equity Pilot Programs build off of the Electric Mobility Roadmap and Existing Buildings Electrification Strategy to ensure all community members can transition to a fossil fuel-free future and benefit from clean and affordable energy, healthy, safe and comfortable homes, and a carbon neutral transportation system that supports active transportation.

The City seeks a CivicSpark Fellow to support implementation across the three program areas of the Climate Equity Pilot Programs serving low-income Berkeley residents.

Project Description

1. Resilient Home Retrofits: Implement building decarbonization improvements that enhance resilience, support occupants and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
2. Electric Mobility Access Pilot: Increase access to electric bicycles or other forms of micromobility, and advance workforce development and high-road jobs.
3. Community Access to Resilience Measures and Electrification Engagement Pilot: Meaningfully engage community members to amplify their voices, elevate their experiences and build their capacity to collaborate as partners in developing and implementing climate change and resilience solutions.

The Fellow will support implementation of all three program areas. Tasks may include:

• Support community engagement, outreach, and events
• Support implementation of the programs and deliverables
• Support coordination and development of relationships across multiple parties
• Participate in meetings and relevant trainings
• Review reports
• Support development and monitoring of evaluation plans

The Fellow will increase the capacity of the City of Berkeley’s OESD team to manage multiple existing projects simultaneously and ensure the success of this pilot program. In order to truly develop meaningful relationships with community organizations, and to work through challenges that may come from a first-time pilot, the Fellow will devote significant time to coordination between the three staff project managers and stakeholder organizations (i.e. both contractors and participants). We hope that successful implementation of this this program will result in additional long-term funding to sustain and scale the programs beyond the initial two-year pilot timeframe.

Desired Skills

The ideal candidate will be passionate about climate change and equity, has strong communication, outreach, public speaking and organizational skills, and an ability and desire to work with diverse populations. The Fellow need not have content expertise, but rather the desire to learn about topics such as building electrification, sustainable transportation, electric mobility, equity, workforce development, and the nexus of health and climate. The ideal candidate is a collaborative team player, and is comfortable managing tasks from multiple complex projects, coordinating across multiple staff members, and effective at clearly communicating any questions or needs. As this is a pilot project, the ideal candidate is flexible and adaptable as program needs and priorities may shift.

Second language proficiency (e.g., Spanish or Chinese languages) is preferred.

Organization & Community Highlights

The City of Berkeley, located in the East Bay across from San Francisco, is famous for its progressive politics and environmental leadership. The City is home to the Berkeley campus of the University of California (the birthplace of the 1960’s Free Speech Movement), and other educational institutions. Berkeley’s community is diverse, racially, ethnically and socioeconomically, and includes many foreign-born residents. With both a high concentration of academics and unhoused residents, the disparities in educational attainment, wealth, and housing are striking. Yet, there is an engaged community eager to explore bold solutions to a range of social and environmental problems.

Living in or around Berkeley is both challenging and rewarding. The City and government offices are served by public transportation (BART train and bus), and many City employees and residents enjoy biking or walking to work. The cost of living is high, and as there is a large student population, competition for affordable housing can be challenging. On the other hand, Berkeley provides a diverse range of cultural (music, museums, dance, food, etc.) and outdoor and recreational opportunities, with its proximity to many regional parks.

The Office of Energy and Sustainable Development (OESD) is a small, close-knit team within the City’s much larger Planning Department. OESD works on a variety of climate mitigation and resiliency programs, with a focus on equitable outcomes for our community. OESD has hosted four CivicSpark members previously, and all have gone on to exciting positions, including one alum who was hired by the City to lead our building energy efficiency and climate inventory efforts. At OESD, the Fellow will gain insight into the unique role of local governments in the climate arena, while having the opportunity to learn about and contribute to a range of projects that will provide professional development opportunities. The Fellow will be encouraged to participate in meetings, webinars, and other training opportunities to develop subject matter expertise and understanding of the policies, programs, barriers and strategies to advance equitable climate solutions. Additionally, the Fellow will gain mastery in effective communication, facilitation and community-driven outreach, and experience working in a diverse community with a range of stakeholders.

Remote or On-Site Placement

The City of Berkeley is currently operating in a hybrid setting, with both in-office and telework opportunities. The Fellow is welcome to work at the office every day if desired, or work a hybrid model of both working from home and the office.